Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world supporting valuable ecosystem goods including fish, shells, coral and other marine products and services such as fisheries habitat, tourism and coastal protection. Solomon Islands is part of the ‘coral triangle’ (Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste) an area of global significance as it is the epicentre for marine biodiversity supporting abundant seagrass, mangroves, coral and reef fish. Solomon Islands supports a population of ~570 000 people with the majority of people (80%) living in rural coastal communities. These communities rely heavily on the resources that coral reefs provide for their daily subsistence and cash needs. Solomon Islands’ reefs, like those of many other countries, are under pressure from a combination of natural and human induced impacts such as climate change and an increasing population. There is particular concern around direct extraction of corals for a growing international aquarium (live coral) and curio (dead coral) trade, as well as a local demand for lime (made from live coral) which is consumed while chewing betel nut.

A framework to assess national level vulnerability from the perspective of food security: The case of coral reef fisheries

Source

Environmental Science & Policy Volume 23, November 2012, Pages 95–108

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Abstract

Measuring the vulnerability of human populations to environmental change is increasingly being used to develop appropriate adaptation policies and management plans for different economic sectors. We developed anational-level vulnerability index that is specific to food security policies by measuring nations’ relative vulnerabilities to a decline in their coral reef fisheries. Coral reef fisheries are expected to decline with climate and anthropogenic disturbances, which may have significant consequences for food security. The vulnerability measure was composed of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity indicators specific to fisheries, reef management, and food security. The vulnerability index was used to evaluate 27 countries, as data required to fully populate the theoretical framework was limited. Of these, Indonesia and Liberia were identified as most and Malaysia and Sri Lanka as least vulnerable nations. Our analysis revealed two common national vulnerability characterizations: low income countries with low adaptive capacity and middle-income countries with higher adaptive capacity but high sensitivity. These results suggest developing context-specific policies and actions to build adaptive capacity in the low-income countries, and to decrease sensitivity in middle-income countries. Comparing our food security evaluation to a more general vulnerability approach shows that they produce different priority countries and associated policies.

The World Resources Institute produced the report in close collaboration with the USAID-funded Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP). Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle was adapted from WRI’s 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited, and supplemented with more recent and detailed data for the Coral Triangle region.

Threats to coral reefs in the Coral Triangle are much higher than the global average. More than 85 percent of reefs within the Coral Triangle Region are currently threatened by local stressors (such as overfishing, pollution, and coastal development), which is substantially higher than the global average of 60 percent. Nearly 45 percent are at high or very high threat levels. When the influence of recent thermal stress and coral bleaching is combined with these local threats, the percent of reefs rated as threatened increases to more than 90 percent, which is substantially greater than the global average of 75 percent.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle studies current and future threats to the Coral Triangle’s reefs, evaluates social and economic vulnerability to reef degradation and loss throughout the six countries, examines reef management initiatives, and identifies solutions to help safeguard reefs.